Arts & Culture

6:09 pm

Mon November 3, 2014

Being crowded together in tiny seats and dealing with an over-humid atmosphere has never stopped Festival Ballet's audience from filling the company's main rehearsal hall for “Up Close on Hope.” Showing a number of new works, the latest edition began last weekend. Bill Gale was there.

Yes, and I was happy to be there, too. But after seeing nine short numbers – some of them world premieres – I began to wonder if today's rising choreographers aren't a . . . little bit depressed.

With just one full day left to campaign before Election Day, Republican gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung hosted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie this morning at a rally at his Cranston headquarters. Meanwhile, former president Bill Clinton is backing Democrat Gina Raimondo in a recorded message.

This week Dave and Mark talk with Kent Dresser, executive director of the nonprofit “Clean Bays”. He’s a licensed captain experienced in marine salvage and towing. They discuss the challenges to clearing old wrecks and pilings that lurk along the bay. The removal is one step toward reviving the waterfront in Providence and East Providence.

First Lady Michelle Obama called on the public to turn out for the upcoming election during a campaign rally for Gina Raimondo. The first lady joined the Democratic nominee for governor at the Juanita Sanchez school in Providence.

Obama called on attendees to convince friends and family to vote, and asked them to consider volunteering for Raimondo’s campaign.

The three candidates for mayor of Providence took part in a spirited debate last night at Rhode Island College. The candidates mostly rehashed their stances while tossing sharp remarks at one another.

With a boisterous audience, it didn’t take long for things to get heated between independent Buddy Cianci, Democrat Jorge Elorza, and Republican Daniel Harrop. Cianci took aim at Harrop for contributing to Elorza’s campaign and saying he might vote for the Democrat.

To take a closer look at the Providence mayor’s race, we brought in Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Mike Stanton … who is considered by many the unofficial biographer of Buddy Cianci. A twice convicted felon, Cianci is running again for mayor. As part of our Rhody Votes election coverage, Rhode Island Public Radio’s Catherine Welch sat down with Stanton to talk about Cianci’s past and whether it is prologue.

For all of our election coverage, visit the Rhody Votes page at our website here.

At age 73, Buddy Cianci’s passion for campaigning still burns bright. He’s the longest serving mayor in Providence history. But scandals have twice forced Cianci from City Hall, first in 1984 and then again in 2002. Yet Cianci keeps coming back, and no one underestimates him in his battle with Democrat Jorge Elorza.

There were times when Ashoka Mukpo didn’t know if he would survive Ebola. Mukpo spent about two and a half weeks in a Nebraska hospital after coming down with Ebola while working as a freelance cameraman in Liberia

He is now back home in Providence.

Mukpo said even thought his symptoms got worse, he knew he was in good hands. After about twelve days he could see in his doctors’ eyes that he was probably going to make it. “I felt that it was manageable, I never felt serious panic coming from any of the nurses,” he said. “So I felt that I was in relatively good hands.”

Tue October 28, 2014

A week after issuing a poll showing an 11-point lead for Democrat Gina Raimondo, Brown University's Taubman Center is out with a new poll showing a statistical dead heat between Raimondo and Republican Allan Fung.

As part of our Rhody Votes election coverage, we’re taking a look at the Providence mayor’s race. The Republican, Daniel Harrop, has rolled out an unorthodox campaign: its cornerstone is to put the city into

receivership, he’s used his time in debates to criticize independent Buddy Cianci, is weighing the option of dropping out of the race, and made a thousand dollar donation to his Democratic challenger Jorge Elorza.